A docuseries about the people behind the best ingredients in the world's finest restaurants.
The Purveyors is a documentary series about individuals who define success differently — the farmers, fishermen, and foragers who create, cultivate, and deliver exceptional ingredients to the best restaurants in America. The men and women whose names never appear on a menu — but whose work makes everything on it possible.
The Purveyors features chefs and purveyors across three global food cities. In each city, the series introduces three purveyors and a world-class chef. Over the course of the three episodes, we hear from each purveyor in their own voice as they share their passion, their mission, and their craft. The fourth episode, "Family Meal," celebrates the partnership that exists between chef and purveyors. Seated together around a communal table, chef and purveyors share a meal that celebrates their passion, dedication, and hard work.
Three cities, twelve episodes, one repeatable format that scales to any food city in the world.
Ryan Ratino
Stuart Brioza
Curtis Duffy
Jônt 
, Bresca , Maass , Ômo , Ox & Olive
Chef Ryan Ratino, the mastermind behind Hive Hospitality, is a culinary virtuoso at the forefront of the dining scene. His portfolio includes the acclaimed two-Michelin-starred Jônt and one-Michelin-starred Bresca, Maass, and Ômo. Ratino has been recognized internationally for ingredient-driven cooking and a commitment to the relationships behind every dish on his menus.
Bluefin Tuna — Yama Seafood, Jersey City, NJ
Since 1980, Yama Seafood has delivered high-quality fish to many of the country's most demanding restaurants, including notable Michelin-starred clients on the East Coast. Headquartered in Jersey City and run today by Nobu Yamanashi — son of the company's founder — Yama specializes in bluefin tuna and a deep network of sourcing relationships built across decades.
Heritage Pork — Autumn Olive Farms, Shenandoah Valley, VA
Clay and Linda Trainum started Autumn Olive Farms in 2005 with a dual mission: creating healthy meats by using pigs to manage invasive plants, and bringing their dormant family farm back into production. Together with their sons, they raise heritage cross-breed Berkabaw pork on diverse forage across the Shenandoah Valley. Their work is served at top restaurants across the country.
Rainbow Trout — Smoke in Chimneys, Newcastle, VA
Ty Walker, owner of Smoke in Chimneys, grew up farming and fly fishing in the Shenandoah Valley. He now operates a 1930s trout hatchery on a wild mountain spring, raising rainbow trout the way it was done a hundred years ago. His fish are served at some of the country's most acclaimed Michelin-starred kitchens.
FOUR EPISODES. POST-PRODUCTION UNDERWAY.
A first look at San Francisco, seen through the eyes of Chef Stuart Brioza.
State Bird Provisions , The Progress , Anchovy Bar — San Francisco
James Beard Award-winning chef and co-owner of State Bird Provisions and The Progress in San Francisco. Named a 2003 Food & Wine Best New Chef. Brioza's restaurants are defined by California ingredients and a deep respect for the suppliers behind them.
Tofu & Yuba — Hodo, Oakland, CA
Vietnamese refugee Minh Tsai founded Hodo with no expectation of building one of the most original plant-based brands in the country. He simply set out to make tofu the way it should be made. His product is now sought by Michelin-starred chefs across the United States.
Sustainable Seafood — Two X Sea, San Francisco; Fish Restaurant, Sausalito, CA
Born in Moscow, raised in the United States, Belov found his calling in ocean fishing at 17 and has built a career around sustainable, line-caught seafood — supplying San Francisco's most celebrated restaurants from his own boat and dock.
Quail — Wolfe Ranch Quail, Sacramento Valley, CA
Wolfe Ranch is the living legacy of one man. Brent Wolfe has dedicated his life to raising and perfecting California's state bird. Michelin dining and California cuisine specifically have been shaped by his work.
FOUR EPISODES. POST-PRODUCTION UNDERWAY.
Ever . Formerly Grace — Chicago
Renowned American chef and restaurateur celebrated for artistry and ingredient-driven menus. Owns and operates the Ever Restaurant Group in Chicago and has earned the industry's highest honors, including two Michelin stars at Ever and three at the legendary Grace.
Mushrooms — Four Star Mushrooms, Chicago
Behind some of the most beloved dishes in Chicago is Four Star Mushrooms. The United Center farm operated by Joe Weber and Sean DiGioia grows flavorful, nutrient-dense mushrooms for the city's top kitchens.
Heritage Grains & Vegetables — Spence Farm, Fairbury, IL
Marty Travis is partner at Spence Farm, co-owned with his son Will. A former furniture maker who returned to the family land, Marty has built one of the country's most respected heritage-grain and produce operations — supplying chefs and bakers across the Midwest.
Rare Ingredients & Tea — Rare Tea Cellar, Chicago
Founder and president of Rare Tea Cellar. Master tea blender who has foraged his own path in the world of tea, creating thousands of custom blends and specialty ingredients used by the world's most celebrated kitchens.
FOUR EPISODES. POST-PRODUCTION UNDERWAY.
The fourth and final episode of every series arc is the Family Meal. The chef cooks a meal — course by course, ingredient by ingredient, from each purveyor on the show — and brings them all to the same table. The purveyors. Their families. The chef and his team. People who have known each other for years through their work but rarely in the same room.
This is where the relationship becomes visible. It's where the labor and craft that lived on phone calls and delivery trucks becomes a meal.
The food is the center of the table. The people around it are the story.
Purveyors Media Group was founded to tell the stories of people who define success differently — masters of their craft working at the apex of their fields with their hands and their hearts. PMG finds those people, builds the trust required to tell their stories truthfully, and produces documentary work that honors the depth of what they do. The Purveyors is PMG's first feature documentary series.
Grand Union is the documentary production company co-founded by Michael Habschmidt and Christian Ramirez. For over a decade, we have been trusted by Fortune 500 brands and the largest companies in America to produce documentary-style commercial work — telling stories at the pace, polish, and pressure that the world's biggest brands require.
We bring that discipline to long-form. Directed, shot, and edited under one roof, The Purveyors is what happens when fifteen years of commercial storytelling gets turned on the people behind the food.
Three cities. Nine purveyors. Three chefs. Over thirty-seven days of production across the country, captured by a small, intentional crew. The Purveyors is made by people who approach their own craft the same way the people in front of the camera approach theirs.
Audiences have seen plenty of chefs. Plenty of plates. Plenty of restaurants. What they haven't seen are the people behind it all — the farmers, the fishermen, the foragers — whose work makes every great meal possible. The names that don't appear on the menu. The hands that never come out of the kitchen.
The Purveyors changes that. This is a documentary series about the humanity and hard work that is the DNA of fine dining. We meet them in their fields, on their boats, in their pastures. We witness their life's work. And we follow that work to the table, where the people who made it possible finally sit down together and break bread.
We made this show because the story has never been told this way — through this lens — and because the people who do this work deserve to be seen and heard.
For more information, screeners, or to discuss representation:
Jonathan Alter
Founder, Purveyors Media Group
jalter@purveyorproductions.com